Overprotective
by KairiMisty
Summary: Marlene is now 17 years of age and has found a boyfriend; choosing to bring him home one day wasn't her wisest decision as Cloud and Tifa begin to quiz him but does Tifa crack first?


The blonde warrior was home usually early with a dangerous look etched upon his features, that was something the ravenette knew not to mess with—he didn't look like he had been in a scrap with any monsters but he certainly was in a foul mood. Rinsing a couple of tumblers from previous customers that had just taken their leave -good timing- she gazed at the man with a questioning look embedded in dark optics. Something had irked him that was for sure.

Deciding not to question it, she decided to save her breath and turn back down to the suds barely touching the delicate skin of her hand. His huffs and puffs were grating on her nerves after the first thirty seconds however as pearl teeth ground together under rosy petals. Glaring at him suitably, she watched him sit on a stool and face the door; his behaviour was odd and it was making her anxious but she still chose not to utter a single word, she had learnt from previous mistakes that sometimes silence was the best when it came to him.

Like clockwork, the second he sat down, Marlene and Denz—a mysterious boy came through the door. Where was her boy though? Oh, that's right, football practice straight after school. The now seventeen year old Marlene smiled at her guardians completely oblivious to the glare she was receiving from the ex-infantry man.

"Cloud, Tifa—I'd like you to meet Johnny, he's my boyfriend…" The fist-fighter choked behind the counter when she heard this young mans name and glanced at Cloud, who was curling his fist tighter and tighter in his lap. Figured; he did admit to be jealous of the Johnny they knew but this kid looked nothing like him anyway and there was no use being upset over a name, however it was highly coincidental. "Hey Cloud, what're you doing home anyway, I saw you on Fenrir and it looked like you were going out of town…"

Ah, so that was it. He had seen the two of them on their way back to the bar and decided to come straight home instead of deliveries. Was he really being this protective? "Marlene, go to your room please. Johnny, may we have a chat?" The young brunette opened her mouth to protest but her attention was drawn to Tifa shaking her head vigorously behind the bar and complied to his request, trudging past him with an angry mutter.

The young brunette boy stood in the middle of the tavern still as a statue, tense silence making it easy to distinguish the sound of his knees knocking together. He was alone with two hero's which he knew weren't about to go easy on him.

"How old are you?" The deep, baritone voice inquired, mako tainted hues staring harshly towards the poor teenage quaking in his boots. Hissing his name from behind the counter, she glared at his feathers hair. She felt sorry for the kid as she heard him whimper 'eighteen' before wincing when the warrior growled. She was going to kill him when they were alone, but she did see where he was coming from; this was Marlene's first, official boyfriend and she did feel the need to grill him to get some answers but perhaps providing a more softer technique would do the job dandy.

"Grade average?" He started again in his gruff, husky tone making Tifa jump over the steel surface with swift ease and smile reassuringly at the boy. "What's your grade average, sweetie?" Her soft, tender voice called out. She could practically feel the daggers twisting through her back as Cloud's eyes burned her mentally from behind. Jerk.

"M-my average is B's ma-am but I-I sometimes get the odd A." He stuttered, his hands fumbling with the hem of his hooded jacket as he avoided eye contact with his girlfriends two carers at all costs. He would rather not be murdered on the spot. He had heard plenty of rumours about some sort of fusion sword, he would rather not be impaled with it in this lifetime. His reverie of nightmares was interrupted rather abrasively. "Tch, not good enough, kid."

That was it, her temper flared as she walked up to him and clotted him over the head with an outstretched palm making the young boy's eyes widen as the older man's ones narrowed a scary amount.

"You know what sweetie, I don't think anymore needs to be said. I doubt Marlene to be in her room, just go through the back there and she should be in the living room." He quickly obliged to the bartenders subtle commands as he practically sprinted out of plain sight venturing to see his girlfriend he suddenly missed so much.

A certain ruby hued woman turned around, the fire surrounding her pupils visible as she stormed up to stubborn man and punched his bicep allowing a sickening crunch to echo throughout the now aside from them, empty bar. He recoiled back a couple of steps rubbing his now deeply bruised flesh and growled at her. "What was that for, Tifa?" She launched forward again but stopped abruptly when he pushed his hands out in front of him in a surrender type pose.

"Don't scare poor kids like that!" She snarled.

"Hardly a kid, he was eighteen." A mumble escaped the delivery boy as he watched the barmaid slink away towards the stairs.

"What did you just say?" She raised an eyebrow, silently daring for him to speak his death sentence.

A rasped choke emanated from a now dry throat as he shook his head and bit his lip. As much as he loved her, she was the only person who could scare the living daylights out of him. "N-nothing, Teef! Nothing!"


End file.
